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A number of readers have expressed interest in a salt water fly-fishing tournament. After some thought, and input from a number of you, we've decided to give it a try. Here's the plan:

On Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, we'll be holding a 3Bs catch-and-release trial tournament. It will be a limited-entry invitational contest, based out of San Diego, and will last just ONE DAY. Fishing starts at 6:00 AM, and ends at 1:30 PM.

It's called a 3Bs contest, because the emphasis is on Bass, Barracuda, and Bonito, although you can also earn points for the other "Big 3" (white seabass, halibut and yellowtail, or "WHYs").

We're calling it a "trial" tournament because that's exactly what it is. To the best of our knowledge, no one has tried a tournament like this in Southern California before, so we're running a small event, to make sure everything works, before we take on a larger group.

We're doing this to help promote the sport, so we've tried hard to make it as easy as possible for you to enter and compete effectively, even if you don't have all of the gear or the experience:

• You can enter and compete with any kind of watercraft, including kayaks, paddleboards, kickboats, and float tubes. We've made allowances in the rules to give people fishing human-powered craft equal fishing time to people with powerboats
  
  
• You don't have to own a boat to enter. You can ride with a friend!
  
  
• If you want, you can hire a charter boat or guide to help you, although your score will be handicapped.
  
  
• You will not have to go far offshore to be a contender. It is entirely possible that a paddleboard or kayak fishermen will win, based on good scores with the 3Bs in local kelp.
  
  
• There is no entry fee. Because we are only taking a limited number of contestants, and we expect a few teething problems, we're not going to charge an entry fee. However, if you want to help support the cause, we'll happily accept donations (see below).
  
  
• We will hold an informal "Tackle and Techniques" seminar after the Contestant's Meeting to go over any last-minute questions you may have about the mechanics.
  

Here's briefly how it works:

• Get out "Beyond The Breakwater" and start fishing. With fly-gear only, of course. Fish that count for score include: calico bass, bonito, barracuda, yellowtail, white seabass and halibut
  
  
• Measure, photograph, release. An approved measuring tool will be supplied. Any fish that exceed the minimum tournament size limit for that species will count for a fixed number of points/fish. The fish must be photographed and released, or it does not count. Fish that can not be released must be kept (if legal to do so), and do not count for points.
  
  
• You receive extra points if you catch a "Slam" (bass, bonito, barracuda), or a "Grand Slam" (white seabass, halibut, yellowtail).
  
  
• To even the playing field between human-powered vessels and power boats, contestants can travel to their fishing areas before "Lines In". People fishing from human-powered vessels have additional time to get back to the "weigh-in" point.
  
  
• You can use a guide or skipper to get out BTB, but it will cost you. To even the playing field, fish caught with the assistance of a guide do not count for as many points.
  
  
• The winner is the person with the most points. Tie-breakers: most Grand Slam points, most Slam points, earliest check-in time..
  

1rst Prize
A Temple Fork Outfitters TiCR X Mini-Magnum fly rod. This is a brand-new rod designed by Contributing Editor Nick Curcione, and has gotten great reviews by everyone who's handled it. It is one of the new breed of short (8') heavy-duty fly rods designed specifically for applications like BTB fly-fishing

2nd Prize
A Cam Sigler 9', 10wt. fly rod with case. As Field Editor Scott Leon can attest, Cam Sigler fly rods are great performers, tough, and well suited to saltwater use. It comes with a rod bag and Cordura-covered hard case.

3rd Prize
Two $50 gift certificate from the Fishermen's Spot, which can be redeemed via phone order, or on their eBay store.

There will also be a number of door and special drawing prizes, including Rio fly lines, Oakley sunglasses, Skull Candy ear buds, and a SPOT Satellite Messenger.

All contestant will receive a goody bag with a BTB hat, a SoCal Fly Fishing Outfitters T-shirt, and RioMax IGFA tippet spools (8, 12, 16, 20lb CLASS). They will also get (for FREE) a week of the latest SST maps, fish reports and fishing intell from FishDope.com

Before you sign up, you should be aware of a few things you'll need to provide:

• A good attitude - this is a TRIAL tournament, so there will probably be some bumps. Contestants are expected to have some tolerance for rough patches...
  
  
• A digital camera - we're working on some sort of camera sponsorship, but until then, it's BYODC (Bring Your Own Digital Camera), either your own, or someone on your boat / vessel.
  
  
• Some time to attend the Contestant's Meeting, which will be held at 6:30 PM Friday, Sept 26, at SoCal Fly Fishing Outfitters, which is located in the Point Loma area of San Diego (full address is in the rules). If you need overnight accomodations or camping facilities, we can make some recommendations, but do not have any deals in place for this tournament.
  
  
• Some time after the fishing is over, to have dinner with the other contestants (we'll provide the eats!) and provide feedback on the day's proceedings. This will happen before the prizes are awarded. We'll also be sending out a survey a week or so afterwards.

While we think that most contestants will either have their own powerboat, or will have arranged in advance to ride with someone else, we are especially interested in finding some contestants in these categories:

• Paddle board, kayak, kickboat or float tube fishermen
  
  
• People who will hire a guide to compete. Remember, you can have multiple contestants on a boat, so you can split the cost of a guide.

We will be holding open some number of slots for people in these groups, regardless of how many other entries we receive.

Rule #1 says only IGFA-compliant fly gear is allowed. If you are at all concerned about the requirement for IGFA fly gear, don't be.

If you have an off-the-shelf fly rod, fly reel, and fly line, your gear is probably "IGFA compliant", as long as any extension butt on the rod is less than 6" long (measured from the center of the reel foot). In addition, your leader just has to have a tippet at least 15" long, 20lb class or less. If you use the required tippet material (RioMax® IGFA class tippet, or Rio Saltwater IGFA Hard Mono, available at most fly fishing stores), you'll be fine. If you add a wire or heavy mono trace for the barracuda, that has to be 12" or less.

Otherwise, if you have a graphite 6wt - 8wt rod, with a reel holding 150 - 200 yards of backing and a sinking fly line, you're all set for the 3Bs!

Click HERE to register for the tournament.

The total contestant pool will be 20 people or less, depending on how many entrants we get in each category. We will accept applications on a first-come-first-served basis, but we will be reserving some number of slots for contestants in the "human powered vessel", and "Fishing with a Guide" categories.

All contestants will be notified of their status no later than Sept. 19, 2008.

Please note: While there is no entry fee, you can really help us out by making a $25 donation. This money will be used to offset the cost of the running the tournament. You can make a donation using a credit card or PayPal when you register, or you can send a check to us at:

Tsunami Fishing Systems
P.O. Box 2833
Vista, CA 92085-2833

Questions? Post it on-line, call us at (760) 419-2124, or email us at: editor@btbff.com